nugget is stoked

Florida Vacation 2007 (aka Honeymoon)In preparation for paradise Florida and vacation (our flight departs later this morning!), Nugget has really been practicing his hammock stretch these last few days: both hands behind his head and both elbows jabbing solidly into my digestive system.In this way, Nugget already reminds me of Daddy: always so much limb going on (Doctor, are you sure that’s not an octopus in there?). DanO’s limbs get in the way when we’re sleeping, getting in the car after I drove last, or buying jeans that don’t come in sizes longer than 34″.On the other hand, I have no need to own a kitchen step ladder ( “Hey… hunny?”), so I guess I can’t complain.Nugget has been doing so much gangley hokie pokie in there that DanO actually saw his extremity hit the wall of my abdomen yesterday.“Was that an arm?!” No, babe, I think it was a tentacle.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My brain is already on vacation, so I really have no closure for this post other than:WE’RE GOING TO FLORIDA TODAY!Followed by:NANNER NANNER! (and other youngest sister-type taunts)

flipping friday let there be a second story

Once upon a time in January, a family bought a house to flip. There was floor plan drawing, there was permit submitting, and that was the first month. There was demolition, there was dust and mess, and that was the second month. There was excavation, there was foundation pouring, and that was the third month. There was roof removal, there was more dust and mess, and that was the fourth month.Then, going weary in their toils, the family hired a crew to frame out part of the house. The crew arrived, worked quickly, and added the second story in a week, roof trusses and all. The family looked upon the house and said “Behold, it is going to be freaking awesome.”The end.(Well, not really the end because there is electrical and plumbing and walls and cabinets and flooring and siding and windows yet to do. Then we can rest.)More pictures for you. If you squint really hard at the labyrinth of 2x4s you can see three bedrooms and two bathrooms in there. And yes, the entry way is open to the second story and the stairs/balcony will have a gorgeous railing. Amen.

newton interviews wilfrid wood..

last november i wrote a post on the sculptor wilfrid wood. i can't gush enough about wilfrid's work. his characters are hilarious, creepy and adorable all rolled into one. there is a great interview over at newton w/ wilfrid. it really made me think about doing what one loves in life. perfect w/ a nice cup of coffee. interview here.

oh pretty..

i found catherine cambell on flickr recently, she's an artist that lives in australia. i absolutely love the delicate lines and colors of her drawings. just look at how pretty they are...

these adorable buttons, along w/ many others can also be found on her etsy shop. you can find paper dolls, prints, original artwork and handmade dolls as well. also be sure to check out catherine's blog www.myfolklover.typepad.com where she regularly writes about her drawings, shop updates, artiststs and her bunny w/ heart shaped fur patterns among many other topics. so cute.

Mon Petit Fantome..

I received a lovely package in the mail the other day from Chad Merritt of Mon Petit Fantome. There was so much care and thought put into the package, I almost didn't want to open it. You know that lasted for about  a minute! But seriously as I tore through the packaging (jooooke, I did open it nice and sweetly as I was raised to do, so...back to the package) in it were beautifully hand cut paper cuts. One of a bear, and in his eyes were silhouettes of a woman, super nice touch. The next was of intricately cut spider webs, my favorite. You can check out prints of these originals here. I can't wait to get some nice frames for them.

He also included a few other jointed shadow puppets, a disc of his music, awesome promotional pics and the way to a girls heart: a doily. I love mail. Thanks Chad!

doing Portland, baby style

We touched down in a sunny, 68° Portland, Oregon on Wednesday afternoon. It was so nice I could hardly stand it. Since we’re at the coast much of our time in state, we decided to stick around the city and do some browsing of the shops on 23rd while eating gelato with those cute little shovel things.{The sunglasses were a sleep aid.}[Aside: I'd like to officially introduce you to our baby carrier that we wore to the zoo (that some of you noticed). Yes, it's new and yes it's awesome. It is a mei tai style carrier from Baby So Smart (who did not pay me to tell you about them, although if they wanted to I'd be open to the idea ::wink::). We super duper love it. OBaby can actually sleep all snuggled in there (unlike our ring slings now that he is so big) and we bought it before this trip for that exact purpose. While we walked 23rd Ave, he napped happily as I debated leaving my socks and underwear behind so that some stunning candle holders could come home with us.]{OBaby, wondering if there’s space in the luggagefor that $180 baby boutique jumper.}Parenting on the go is so much easier for us with babywearing. We didn’t pack his stroller and we are just borrowing a car seat while in town (which has stayed in the car for the entire trip). We packed so light that we didn’t even check bags and so far we haven’t forgotten anything.There’s something about flying [by the seat of your pants] with an infant that appeals to DanO’s and my problem solving sides. For example, when we landed, OBaby was in entirely the wrong outfit for the warm and sunny afternoon we were experiencing so we did a quick in-arms wardrobe change standing the shade in a parking lot, then carried on our way. Later when we realized that he would be snuggled right up to us for a good period of time in the mei tai, we nixed the pants we had just put on him.That’s right, my baby walked around “trendy-third” in nothing but a polo and his diaper because that’s what worked for us. There’s something to be said for doing what works in parenting and not what ‘looks good’.That’s not to say that he didn’t look good, because clearly, he did.{and I think he knows it}~~~~~~Speaking of questionable behaviors, we took our pants-less-baby-on-the-go to a Starbucks there on 23rd where I had made plans to meet someone from the internet (somehow, the more often I say that the less creepy it sounds). This wasn’t just anyone from the internet though, this was the outdoor wife herself, my future roommate at The Relevant Conference in October.We talked about churches, husbands and the struggle of trying to keep up on blogging. I also confessed to her that I was going to have to milk myself pump while at the conference, so we should probably get comfortable with each other sooner rather than later (which began well as I fumbled to nurse OBaby while sitting directly across from her in an uncomfortable wood chair. Nipple flashing: now that’s what I call bonding.)Joking aside (I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again), I love this crazy blogging on the interwebs thing. It has brought so many great people into my life, some that I’ve met in person and some I haven’t yet, but all of them beautiful.

Ana Benaroya X Reed Radar..

Ana Benaroya recently animated fashion photographs in the online mag 160g magazine. Pamela Reed and Matthew Radar shot the images. They're divine. I wish I had the patience (ie: time) to sort out the gifs so they stay animated...alas, I don't. See the images in action here. They're wonderful and inspiring you'll be happy you clicked.

Home Improvement Ideas Ipe Wood Tiles Make for Easy Deck Installation

If you’d like the look and feel of a wood deck, but all you have is a balcony, cement patio, or other bland outdoor surface, you could check into these deck tiles from East Teak Fine Hardwoods. Ipe is an exotic hardwood that does a good job resisting rot, decay, and other foes

=============
Article Content:
If you’d like the look and feel of a wood deck, but all you have is a balcony, cement patio, or other bland outdoor surface, you could check into these deck tiles from East Teak Fine Hardwoods.

Ipe is an exotic hardwood that does a good job resisting rot, decay, and other foes the weather will throw at you. It’s similar to teak in durability but costs much less.

When ipe tiles age, they develop a silvery gray patina, but you can maintain their rich dark-brown color by applying a penetrating wood sealer.

These tiles can be installed over an existing flat surface, so getting a new “deck” becomes a simple weekend project for any DIY type. You can also install them over packed gravel with good drainage or an old but still structurally sound deck.

———————

Tags: deck tiles, decks, Decks & Patios

Intel to launch graphics-less Sandy Bridge CPUs

In a last minute attempt at getting rid of some more Sandy Bridge processors, Intel will be launching three new SKUs, one of which will be the rumoured Core i5-2550K. The big news here isnt actually the new models themselves, but the fact that none of the three new models feature built in graphics.

Besides the Core i5-2550K Intel is also planning on launching the Core i5-2380P and the Core i5-2450P where we presume the P has something to do with the lack of an active graphics core. Wed guess that these are parts where the graphics core wasnt working properly, but where the rest of the chips were fully functional and as such Intel decided to launch a few models without graphics. Although a lot of users dont use the Intel graphics that is now part of every single Sandy Bridge processor to date, there are some downsides to this move as for example you can no longer take advantage of Intels Quick Sync technology.

The Core i5-2380P is clocked at 3.1GHz, the same as the Core i5-2400 and it has the same Turbo Boost frequency of 3.4GHz. The Core i5-2450P is the odd one out here, as its clocked at 3.2GHz with a top Turbo Boost frequency of 3.5GHz, in other words 100MHz slower than the Core i5-2500. The Core i5-2550K on the other hand is 100MHz faster than the Core i5-2500K at 3.4GHz with a top Turbo Boost clock speed of 3.8GHz. All three models have 6MB cache, but none of them have VT-d or TXT support, a feature all previous non-K SKUs have had in the Core i5 family.

Sadly we dont know when these models will launch, but wed expect them to arrive sometime early next year. Wed expect the P SKUs to be priced slightly lower than models with built in graphics, but were not sure where Intel is planning on positioning the 2550K, as in reality its a lesser version to the 2500K, so well see how Intel prices it and explains the lack of integrated graphics as a selling point.

oh by the way

We went for our 20 week ultrasound ummmm.. well.. a couple weeks ago! :)I walked into the ultrasound being 19 weeks and 6 day.. I walked out being 20 weeks 3 days. I was super excited and totally bummed all at the same time.. I had big plans for the official 20 weeks mark.. I was excited to see that I had exactly as many days left as I had already finished.. That half way point was really exciting for me.. But I blinked and it was over…However… My FAVORITE thing in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD is the moving up of my due date.. This baby is HUGE! Measuring 8 days ahead.. already weighing a full pound when it should have only been weighing around 10 ounces. Big kid.. And allllll feet and legs.. It’s pretty funny.. Want to see????Here is the profile.. I think I may have a simpsons baby! Thankfully the lips don’t look as big in the other pics!

A GIANT foot..

Another picture of before mentioned GIANT foot and super long leg..

The legs crossed..

Another profile

Looking down from the top of the head.. the arms..

But this… this is my FAVORITE picture..

It’s so typical of this baby.. I just love it. It spent almost the entire ultrasound laying like this.. I don’t know if you can tell… But it is laying on its head with its feet up in the air. It looked like it was doing some sort of yoga position and paddling its legs like it was riding a bike. It was super cute.. and it just makes me laugh! What a silly kid…

What kind you ask???????? (one of my husbands friends actually asked him “Do you know what kind it is yet?)

To tell our families we made these jars. Them each in a box with no other notes…

I wasn’t there to see how long it took my family to get it.. but it took his dad sometime to figure it out!
That’s right.. we’re in for some frogs and snails and puppy dog tails!!!

Just like I had always said… It’s a boy!!!!

I honestly wasn’t very surprised.. I always knew it was a boy… So it was just more of an .. “oh.. okay” moment..

And now.. so I can formally humiliate my son on the world wide web.. I give you further proof..
Even though Aaron really wanted a girl.. He is definitely excited for his boy now.. He talks to him a lot and its really funny.. Sometimes he’ll put his mouth on my stomach and scream something into it. It always startles the baby and he jumps! It’s so funny.. Of course the baby probably doesn’t think its too funny.. but we do!

We are approaching the 24th week.. and I still can’t believe it.. I have NO idea where this little guy is hiding. He’s big.. he’s a big baby.. but he’s obviously found a pretty decent hiding place.. I was just at a baby shower Saturday when I started talking about some of the same things the girl was talking about she said “I didn’t know you were pregnant” Yep.. almost 6 months!!! It’s actually starting to get annoying.. but I guess I should just feel lucky and roll with the punches! But back to the baby.. everything looks great. He was SUPER active. I do feel him everyday but they are just little thumps.. nothing huge. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t feel all those karate moves he was doing in there. The tech checked everything and saw no problems but was having a tough time getting good pictures for the doctor since he was so squirmy. We have another appointment in a couple weeks and will have yet another ultrasound so she can get good pictures, It’s at 8 oclock in the morning so hopefully he’ll still be asleep! Only bad news.. (well not really bad..) Is that my placenta still hasn’t moved. I was told I had placenta previa at about 11 weeks. But that it will more than likely move.. It hasn’t… not even a teeny tiny bit.. I was really worried about it at first. But I’m not anymore.. It doesn’t mean anything bad for the baby.. So I just deal with it! There is still a chance it could move, but if it hasn’t even moved a little in 10 weeks.. I’m not really counting on it. It just means I will have to have a c-section.. which I can deal with. Not my ideal situation.. but still not doom and gloom.. So.. we’ll see.. I’m fine either way.. Just as long as our little guy is safe and sound! and please don’t ask about names.. that’s a WHOLE separate post… get your thinking caps on!! :)

emily barletta new work..

Emily Barletta's amazing new piece, Horizon is on view at Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC. Horizon stays true to Emily's style of organic, intricate sculptures. Her piece will be up through January at the Yarn store, if you are a knitter, felter, crocheter, weaver or just general craft enthusiast the store and Emily's work is a must see. See more of Emily's incredible work here.

Sneak Peek Chris Duncan EYE AGAINST I..

Earlier yesterday I popped into Baer Ridgeway to say hello to Chris Duncan and check out the installation of his solo show, EYE AGAINST I, which opens this coming Saturday. The name, EYE AGAINST I is a take on Bad Brains' song I AGAINST I, and references Chris' roots to the punk rock hardcore scene of the early/mid-eighties and his own perception of sight, both literally and metaphorically.

It was so nice to meet up with Chris and get a sneak peek into such an amazing show. Chris is so humble and down to earth. The show encompasses his most elaborate installation to date, and it shows. Extra walls have been built, his signature string is hung, sound and film will be playing/projecting and even Chris' daughter has a piece in the show. It's truly a stunner of a show, I was so inspired and pumped when I left the gallery. Below is a brief glimpse, I'll post the full show on Monday!

EYE AGAINST I, opens September 11, from 4-7 pm and runs through October 15, 2010. Accompanying the show through out the month will be a curated series of readings and performances to be held in the gallery curated by Chris. More info on the facebook page.

2011 by the numbers

If you receive a Christmas card from us in the mail, spoiler alert.Merry Christmas! Love, O My Family

1 month letter

Dear Miles, Today you are 1 month old.

WOW! What a month it’s been. In some ways it seems like this month has taken 2 years, and in other ways I feel like it was just yesterday that you were jabbing me in the stomach with your knees.
This month has not been easy. You’ve managed to push every button you can find, but I know it will all be worth it and we wont even remember the hard times soon. Being born in December sure has made for a busy first month of life.
The day before you were born I had my work Christmas party. Everyone joked that you just wanted to have one last good meal before you came out. That night we also had our family Christmas party. I was pretty uncomfortable but I had no idea that in less than 24 hours you would be in my arms. I was sure you were going to stay warm and cozy in there for a very long time. Maybe forever!
I’ll never forget the morning of the day you were born. The excitement, and the nervousness of not knowing what to expect was overwhelming. I think Dad and I handled that day like champs. It all went by so fast. You were here before we knew it.
The first person you met in the hospital was Katie. She couldn’t wait to meet you and was there before anyone else. In fact, when she got to the hospital you were still off getting your first bath and she had to wait quite awhile for you to come back to the room. It was then that we discovered the full magnitude of your hair.
We knew you had a lot, but after it was washed and all fluffy we really saw just how much there was. Everyone at the hospital commented on how thick and dark it was. It was practically black. Grandpa Strebel said you looked like a little Indian baby with black hair. I loved it and was in awe over it.
When we left the hospital a couple days after you were born but we were back sooner than we thought we’d be. That first night was pretty much a nightmare. You screamed and screamed and nothing would make you better. Your breathing seemed so labored and raspy. Back to the hospital we went, first thing in the morning. The pediatrician didn’t think anything was wrong, but did want to have your liver levels tested again.
We took you home and tried again. The nights stayed pretty much the same. You just weren’t happy.
3 days after you were born we went over to some of Daddy’s friends house. It was a nice break, but boy was I tired. I didn’t realize it until we actually got there. We ate dinner and all the boys played games. It was really nice to be able to talk with all of our friends and for all of them to meet you.
The next night was Christmas Eve. We went over to Grandma & Grandpa Eaton’s house for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Strebel were there also. That night all 3 off us received blessings from Grandpa Eaton and Great Grandpa Strebel. We really needed them and they sure brought us peace and comfort.
Christmas day ended up being the best day of your short life so far. We had planned to get up and go to Grandma and Grandpa Eaton’s house. Uncle Jon was going to be calling from his mission in Switzerland and we wanted to be there to talk to him. When we woke up there was A LOT of snow. The snow came almost half way up the front door.Dad went outside to start shoveling so we could be on our way. He was shoveling for a really long time. He tried to pull the car out and got it stuck in the street. We weren’t going anywhere that day. So the three of us stayed home and just cuddled together all day. It was just what we needed. It was the first day we hadn’t left the house since you were born. It was so nice to relax. The next day your Auntie Ryan came to stay with us. What a welcome sight she was. We were sooo tired and so ready for the help.
While she was here she took care of you at night and slept (when she could) during the day.She also helped a lot with the house work. Daddy went back to work for the time she was here. We went and had some pictures taken of you before you got to big. You got your first bath, and celebrated New Years with Ryan. She left January 2nd, but we knew she wouldn’t be gone for long. You had your 2 week check up and a few other doctor’s appointments. You also made your first trip to church on the 11th.We were really nervous about how you would handle it. You slept right until the sacrament blessing then started grunting away. The people around us laughed at you. I held you the rest of the time and you were just fine.
We were also really excited that Grandma and Grandpa from California got to come out to meet you for a weekend. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to have help again. You were pretty good while they were here and we went a few fun places, including Cabelas. The day before you turned 1 month old, I started back at work. Right now me and dad split the day with you. I go into work in the morning while he stays home with you, and he goes to work in the afternoon and I stay home with you. It works out really well and we both get to spend some good time with you. I think the dog really like always having some one home with him too. This month you have really worked on getting better at adjusting to life. I think it was just a hard adjustment for you, but you’re coming along. I can finally see a little glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I know it’s going to get easier.
You have really become great buddies with Daddy. He has been your savior. You has spent so much time with you and taken such good care of you. I think he surprised everyone with how good he’s been with you. You are definitely his little man and he loves you so much. He’ll tell me sometimes that he loves you so much that he just wants to hug you so tight but he’s afraid to. I hope one day you’ll want to hug him that tight too! We love you so much. I hope you always know that. Even though it has only been 4 weeks, we can’t ever imagine our lives without you. You were just what we needed to make our family whole. We are so grateful for the choices you made and for choosing us. And we are so grateful for the blessings that we have to know that we will always be together. We hope you continue to grow strong and healthy and always remember who you are and what you stand for.
We love you..
Happy 1 month baby..
Love,
Mommy and Daddy